As we inch closer to the start of Training Camp for each of the 32 NHL teams, a handful of players looking for a contract for the upcoming 2024-25 campaign remain unsigned. Thanks to first-year Edmonton Oilers general manager Stan Bowman, one name has now been subtracted from that list.
Defenseman Travis Dermott, who played last season with the Arizona Coyotes, has been signed by the Oilers to a professional tryout agreement as confirmed by the team's official X (formerly known as Twitter) account.
Travis Dermott joins the Oilers hoping to land a new deal for this season having already appeared in 329 NHL games, and potentially helping to offset the absences left behind by the departures of Cody Ceci and Phillip Broberg.
Looking back at Travis Dermott's NHL journey
He was selected with the 34th overall pick in the 2014 NHL Draft by the Toronto Maple Leafs, with whom he would play the first four and one-half years of his career before being dealt to the Vancouver Canucks at the 2022 NHL Trade Deadline.
He waited until December to make his 2022-23 season debut due to a concussion that he suffered in practice in September. His injury troubles continued as he sufferred a hamstring injury after just 11 games that would ultimately keep him out of the lineup for the remainder of the year.
He then relocated to the desert, agreeing to a one-year, two-way deal with the Arizona Coyotes. The contract stipulated that he earn $800,000 at the NHL level while earning $450,000 in the American Hockey League.
He ultimately appeared in 52 games for the Coyotes, scoring twice while adding five assists with 26 penalty minutes; he averaged 17:17 of ice time while posting a regrettable plus/minus rating of -14.